The Challenge: To select your 12 books from among the following categories. There are 9 sets of challenges plus 3 variations. You may choose to participate in any number of them, from just one to all 12. Or if you have a lot of books which fit a particular challenge you may do more than one round.

The Calendar Challenge:
There are 12 months in the year. For this challenge read one book published in each calendar month. You may go by the original copyright/publish date, the reissue date, or date first published digitally (for backlist titles new to digital).

Or for a Variation, The New Release Calendar Challenge:
Read 12 new books published in 2012, one for each month. Going by the copyright date, most print published books in the last week of the month are considered the next month’s releases, but you could use either the copyright date or actual release/”street” date. Books for this variation should be new releases for 2012 only.

The Jury Challenge:
There are 12 members of a jury. For this challenge read
4 books which are AAR contest winners (Top 100 Poll, Annual favorites, etc)
4 books which have won/received honorable mention at Cover Café http://www.covercafe.com/
4 books which have won or been nominated for a RITA Award

The Clock Challenge:
There are 12 hours on the clock. For this challenge read
4 Contemporary books
4 Historical books
4 Futuristic or Time-Travel books

Or for a variation,
2 books set in the 5th – 16th centuries (401-1600).
2 books set in the 17th century (1601-1700)
2 books set in the 18th century (1701-1800)
2 books set in the 19th century (1801-1900)
2 books set in the 20th century (1901-2000)
2 books set in the 21st century (2001-2100)

The Counterclockwise Challenge:
Read 12 books from an author’s backlist.

The High Noon Challenge:
Read 12 books by new-to-you authors.

The Midnight Challenge:
Late to a series? Here’s the excuse to finally tackle it. For this challenge read 12 books in the same series. It can be a single author series (ie JD Robb’s In Death series, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove series, Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series), a multi-author series (ie Harlequin Crystal Creek, Silhouette 36 Hours) or even a series of loosely connected books (ie Karen Rose’s Don’t Tell through You Belong to Me, Cindy Gerard’s 6 Bodyguards books + 6 of the spin-off BOIs series). The challenge here is that, as much as it seems like every book nowadays is part of a series, it can be a difficult to find a series with 12 books in it.

The Duodenary Category Romance Challenge:
Read one book each from 12 of the following category romance lines:

I may have left some imprints out. There are also multiple limited series (Harlequin Code Red, Harlequin Crystal Creek, Harlequin Delta Justice, Silhouette Fortune’s Children, Silhouette Family Secrets, Silhouette Lone Star Country Club, Silhouette Montana Mavericks, etc.) which you could choose from for this challenge or The Midnight Challenge above.

Or for a variation, read 12 books from the same category romance line.

A Dime a Dozen Challenge:
Lots of things are sold by the dozen: eggs, donuts, cans of soda, roses, etc. For this challenge read 2 books each from any 6 of the following categories:
Contemporary
Fantasy
Futuristic
Gothic
Historical
Inspirational
Paranormal
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Suspense
Time Travel
Urban Fantasy
Young Adult

The Twelve Days of Christmas Challenge:
Read one book in each of these categories
Day 1.) A book with the word “First”, “Partridge”, “Pear”, or “Tree” in the title or on the cover. Or a book featuring a multi-generational family or where the hero/heroine is a gardener or landscape designer.

Day 2.) A book with the word “Second”, “Two”, “Turtle” or “Dove” in the title. Or a book with a beta hero.

Day 3.) A book with the word “Third”, “Three”, “French” or “Hens” in the title. Or a book set in France or featuring a character who is French or speaks French.

Day 4.) A book with the word “Fourth”, “Four”, “Colly” or “Birds” in the title or a blackbird on the cover. Or since many people sing the song as “Calling Birds” a book where the hero/heroine has a job considered a calling (military, medical field, social work, etc.) or where one of the characters works in a call center.

Day 5.) A book with “Fifth”, “Five”, “Gold” or “Rings” in the title. Or a book where one of the characters works in the wedding industry or is an Olympic athlete.

Day 6.) A book with the word “Sixth”, “Six”, “Geese” or “Laying” in the title. Or a book featuring a pregnant heroine.

Day 7.) A book with the word “Seventh”, “Seven”, “Swan”, “Swans”, “Swim” or “Swimming” in the title. Or a book where the hero/heroine undergoes a makeover or where one of the characters is a lifeguard

Day 8.) A book with the word “Eighth”, “Eight”, “Maid”, “Maids” or “Milking” in the title. Or a book where the heroine works as a maid or a character works in the dairy industry or owns a farm or a book where the heroine is considered to be an “old maid” by other characters.

Day 9.) A book with the word “Ninth”, “Nine”, “Lady”, “Ladies” or “Dancing” in the title. Or a book where the heroine is a dancer or where the heroine is a member of the aristocracy addressed as “Lady”.

Day 10.) A book with the word “Tenth”, “Ten”, “Lord”, “Lords” or “Leaping” in the title. Or a book where the hero is a Marquis, Earl, or Viscount and thus addressed as “Lord”.

Day 11.) A book with the word “Eleventh”, “Eleven”, “Pipers” or “Piping” in the title. Or a book where a character works in a bakery or in the plumbing or fashion industries.

Day 12.) A book with the word “Twelfth”, “Twelve”, “Drum” or “Drums” in the title. Or a book where one of the characters is in a band or works in the advertising industry.

If you are stuck on a day, you may also use a book with the word “Day”, “Christmas”, “True”, “Love”, “Gave” or “Me” in the title, but try to limit yourself to only one such substitution.

Remember, the challenge is for fun and to help get books out of your TBR pile and either onto your keeper shelf or off to a UBS to find a new home. The challenge is open to everyone. You may read print or digital books or listen to audio books. Good luck and happy reading!

I will go for the Dime a Dozen Challenge.
I started the year off yesterday with a Paranormal: Viper Moon by Lee Roland. The world is quite interesting and there was also some humor. It is at the border of enough humor to recommend for people looking for humor, but the overall story is totally serious.

A Dime a Dozen:
2 Paranormal Books:
1) Spirit Bound by Christine Feehan: After a slow start, I enjoyed this book. Feehan’s OTT alpha heroes work for me because her heroines are also strong and not doormats. There are some timeline issues vs the Drake books <spoiler> Only a year + a few weeks have supposedly passed in book time since Magic in the Wind, yet it’s mentioned that “the trouble” Frank was in with the Russian mob for which he was arrested and went to prison for was a few years ago, even though it happened in Oceans of Fire. And I don’t understand how Blythe’s mother could have been dead for five years when she was alive in Safe Harbor. But those aren’t really a reflection of the romance in this book, which I thought worked well.

2) Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger: I liked the romance between the h/h of this book. I expected the h/h of the first book to have more than a mere mention though. Political machinations played a bigger role in the plot than I would have liked, but for the most part work. It’s a shame the author won’t be writing future books in her Realms Beyond series because the world building was interesting.

The Twelve Days of Christmas ChallengeDay 5.) A book with “Fifth”, “Five”, “Gold” or “Rings” in the title. Or a book where one of the characters works in the wedding industry or is an Olympic athlete
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

I read the previous two books in The Bride Quartet series for the 2011 Reading Challenges, so when I saw that there was a category related to the wedding industry in this year's challenge, I immediately thought it was time to take the 3rd book in the series out of my TBR. And against my expectations, I liked this book better then the other two. Humorous dialogue, likable h/h, and the amount of scenes spent on preparing or running wedding ceremonies was not as excessive as in the 2nd book (although I got a little bit tired of it after some time). The one thing I did not like (minor spoilers): after every book, the heros end up moving in with the heroines, who all live in the property where they run their wedding business. Does it really make sense for a set of newly formed couples to start their lives together basically under the same roof? One of the heros (from the 2nd book) is an architect, and had great pride on his house. Would he really give it up to leave with the heroine in a guest house? Couldn't she drive to work everyday? I understand that it shows how the four friends are close to each other, and how the heros love them enough to sacrifice for them, but I thought it a bit of a stretch. I would prefer some independency, even if I really, really loved my friends.
But, overall, I thought that Savor the Moment was a good start for this year's challenge.

Last edited by karat on Sun Mar 25, 2012 2:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

Since I'm always looking for ways to reduce my TBR, I think I'll take either the Calendar Challenge or the Dime a Dozen Challenge. The other challenges would probably increase my TBR instead of reduce it. _________________Linnae
Life Begins After Coffee

I read a second Paranormal last week to finish that subset:
Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape (paranormal steampunk). The world is an interesting mix of alternate historical science and magic. There was a bit of humor, but not enough to recommend the book for humor.

I started the Urban Fantasy subset on Saturday:
Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones. This is the second book in a new series with the not-so-grim reaper as the protagonist. There is enough humor to recommend (3.5 stars on my 5-star scale).

The New Release Calendar Challenge:
January – Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz: This is the first book in her new Dark Legacy series. While not an Arcane book, it is still set firmly in paranormal-land. The heroine’s family issues reminded me of her earlier, non-paranormal books. While there’s nothing really new in this book, I still enjoyed it. Sam and Abby made a fun couple. I’ve long considered JAK a comfort read. So while her books can be predictable on one level, I do not find them boring. She has the ability to suck you into her written world and I’m often sad to leave her characters behind, which is why she is still an autobuy author for me. I’m looking forward to more books about the Coppersmith family.

A Dime a Dozen Challenge: 2 down 10 to go…
The New Release Calendar Challenge: 1 down 11 to go…

The Twelve Days of Christmas ChallengeDay 9.)A book with the word “Ninth”, “Nine”, “Lady”, “Ladies” or “Dancing” in the title
Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas

This is the 2nd book on Kleypas's Bow Street Runners trilogy. Lady Sophia Sidney's goal is to get revenge from Sir Ross Cannon, who she believes to be responsible for her brother's death.
I liked the characters very much, specially Sir Ross. He was sort of a beta hero, very compassionate and able to forgive Sophia's mistakes. The plot was somewhat predictable, so I did not love the book, but found it enjoyable.
Here is the AAR review:
http://likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=3783

The Twelve Days of Christmas Challenge
Day 10.) A book with the word “Tenth”, “Ten”, “Lord”, “Lords” or “Leaping” in the title
The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley

This is the 3rd book on Jennifer Ashley's Highland Pleasures series, about the MacKenzie brothers. On a review here on AAR, Jean Wan gave this book a C- (http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=8625). I liked it much better than her, and would give it a B-. I have to agree with some of the flaws Jean Wan describes in her review (particular the "Instant Lust Syndrome"), but the author was actually able to make me care about Lord Cameron Mackenzie and Ainsley Douglas, and I loved the way Ainsley, with her practical view of life and her unbreakable persistence, ended up being the right woman for Cameron.